Ecosystems & Rainforests
- Created by: iona_allxn
- Created on: 02-03-17 18:40
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- Ecosystems & Rainforests
- What changes ecosystems?
- Human
- Deforestation alters nutrient cycle
- Afforestation (planting trees)
- Overfishing
- Water pollution e.g. fertiliser
- Eutrophicaton increased algae leads to decreased oxygen
- Natural
- Storm (UK 1987)
- Climate change
- Drought
- Wildfires
- Volcanic eruption
- Global, e.g. climate change
- Small scale, e.g. removing a hedge
- Yellowstone
- Wolves reintroduced in 1995 after 70 years
- Decrease in deer
- Increase in vegetation
- Increase in trees
- Increased birds & beavers, x5 over 6 years!
- Dams provided homes for otters etc.
- Stabilised river banks
- Increased birds & beavers, x5 over 6 years!
- Increase in trees
- Learnt to avoid places where easily hunted
- Increase in vegetation
- Decrease in kyotes
- Killed by wolves
- Leftover meat attracted golden eagles etc.
- More mice and rabbits attracting hawks
- Human
- Biomes
- Patterns
- Tropical rainforests around equator due to intense solar insolation
- Caused by global atmospheric circulation
- Deserts around the tropics, as air is dry after losing moisture to rainforest
- Savannah between rainforest and desert
- Variations
- Ocean currents
- Altitude
- Winds
- Distribution of land/sea
- Patterns
- Tropical rainforests
- Climate
- High rainfall, over 2000mm a year
- Inter Tropical Conversion Zone (ITCZ)
- low pressure belt follows most direct sunlight, causing rainy seasons
- Inter Tropical Conversion Zone (ITCZ)
- Constant high temperature
- Equatorial region, receives intense solar insolation evaporating moisture, causing convectional rainfall
- High rainfall, over 2000mm a year
- Layers
- Top canopy 35m, sunlight and strong winds
- Plants need photosynthesis so grow upwards, attracting animal life toward canoppy
- Middle canopy, hot, dry, many overlapping branches
- Lower canopy, thickest layer, little wind, hot, damp air, palms, shrubs & young trees
- Shrub layer, dark humid, lots of decomposition
- Top canopy 35m, sunlight and strong winds
- Environment
- Clouds build up during day as temperature and pressure rise, rain in afternoon
- 20% rainwater reaches river
- the rest is recycled back into canopy or escapes through transpiration
- Trees have shallow roots as most nutrients is absorbed through rotting vegetation
- Soil is shallow, infertile and lacking in nutrients , leached by constant rainfall
- Dead leaves decompose quickly in hot, humid conditions
- Rainfall quickly dissolves nutrients, leaving iron rich soil called latosol
- Plant & animal adaptions
- Buttresses: giant ridges support tall trees and increase s.a. helping transport water, O2 and CO2
- Epiphytes, plants grow on branches, high up to seek sunlight, obtain nutrients through water, not earth
- Lianas, woody creepers, rooted in ground but carried into canopy by trees, stabilise tree
- Thin, smooth, bark, allows water to run easily
- Emergents, trees like kapok grow faster to reach sunlight first
- Flexible base, turn to face sun
- Drip tip, allows heavy rain to drip off leaf
- Sustainable management
- Sustainable = something that is good, socially, environmentally and economically that will benefit future generations
- Strategies
- Ecotourism
- socially sustainable, creates jobs
- economically sustainable, boosts economy
- environmentally sustainable, relies on protecting beautiful environments
- small-scale tourism
- Belize ecotourism association began in 1993, 1999 50% tourist visited heritage sites and 13% national parks
- Selective logging
- International agreements
- Conservation & education
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)
- Ecotourism
- Climate
- What changes ecosystems?
- Malaysia
- Causes
- Mineral extraction
- Mainly tin
- Oil and gas recently on Borneo
- Population pressure
- Between 1956 and 1980s, 15000 hectares felled for settlers
- Logging
- Leading exporter of tropical wood since 1980s
- Commercial farming
- "slash and burn,"
- Mineral extraction
- South-east Asia
- Made up of Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, part of Borneo
- 67% rainforest
- Environmental losses
- Soil erosion, deforestation exposes nutrient rich top layer of soil to rain, loss of roots loosens soil
- Biodiversity loss
- Climate change
- Local
- Global
- Loss of carbon sinks
- Economical
- Water shortages caused by pollution and climate change
- tax-paying companies boost economy
- Climate change can damage farming business
- Number of tourist attracted to rainforests decrease
- Medicinal plants may become extinxt
- Climate change could have economic costs as people adapt to living in warmer climate
- Fires can get out of control,destroying valuable farming and logging sites
- Hydroelectric power - lots of cheap energy
- Improved transport infrastructure opens up new business/tourist locations
- Palm oil and rubber used for other products
- Minerals like gold are very valuable
- Jobs created by mining, farming and energy (HEP)
- Causes
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